1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a processing robot system in which a processing device is connected to a robot, for example, an industrial robot, to perform processing.
2. Description of the Related Art
A processing robot system, in which a processing device is connected to an industrial robot in order to perform processing, has been known (see, for example, Japanese Translation of PCT International Application Publication No. 2014-520671). The processing device in the processing robot system is provided with a processing tool mounted on a tip end of the robot, and is configured to control processing sequences executed by the processing tool in accordance with commands from a control device of the robot.
If the processing device is an analog-controlled device, as long as an operator correctly connects wires of the processing device and a robot control device, a communication setting between the processing device and the robot control device is automatically completed. In the analog-controlled processing device, adjustable parameters are limited, and accordingly, the operator's workload for setting parameters for controlling the processing device via the robot control device is relatively small. In other words, in the robot control device connected to the analog-controlled processing device, the load applied on the operator to perform a setting operation is relatively small.
In recent years, many digital-controlled devices have been widely used as processing devices connected to an industrial robot, and connecting a robot control device and a processing device via digital communication has become common. Processing devices, to which open or standardized field bus communication standards are applied on the assumption that digital-controlled processing devices may be connected to robot control devices made by different robot manufacturers, have rapidly spread in the market. Examples of the field bus communication standards include DeviceNet (registered trademark), EtherNet/IP (registered trademark), or PROFIBUS (registered trademark). In a robot control device connected to such digital-controlled processing devices, a communication setting corresponding to the field bus communication standard for each processing device is necessary.
Almost all of these digital-controlled processing devices are configured to be capable of switching a plurality of processing sequence control methods depending on every object to be processed, thereby enabling one processing machine to perform a plurality of operations. Digital-controlled processing devices have various functions in comparison with analog-controlled processing devices, and serve a wide variety of functions, which can be adjusted from a robot control device, and parameters. Consequently, in a robot control device connected to a digital-controlled processing device, a burden on the operator when the operator makes a setting to control the processing device is large.
Thus, auto-setup software for automating settings for connection with a specific model of the processing device made by a specific manufacturer is preinstalled in the robot control device.
Further, in communication between a robot control device and a digital-controlled processing device, converting digital signals to analog signals by digital-analog conversion causes communication hardware or connection setting software to be simplified.
The problems of the aforementioned conventional technologies will now be described.
In processing devices for analog communication, even when the manufacturer or model of a processing device is changed, making communication settings between the processing device and a robot control device is not necessary for the software in the robot control device. In contrast, in processing devices for digital communication, making different communication settings depending on the type of field bus communication standard for each processing device is necessary for the communication software in the robot control device. In these digital communication settings, a standard value is preset in the processing device, and making a communication setting corresponding to the standard value is necessary for the robot control device.
Regarding I/O signals to be transmitted between the processing device and the robot control device via the field bus communication, the relationship between the sequence of the signals and the objects to be controlled is not standardized, and varies depending on the manufacturer or model of each processing device. Thus, in the robot control device, an operation for setting the allocation of I/O signals in accordance with the information disclosed by the manufacturer of each processing device (called “I/O mapping”) is needed.
When all of the settings for communication and control in the robot control device are manually made as described above, a plurality of setting items necessary for setting are displayed on various screens in conventional software of the robot control device, and are difficult to find. Thus, only an operator with extensive knowledge about the software of the robot control device connected to a processing device can manually and easily make settings.
When the settings are successfully made, setting data backed up by the software of the robot control device may be developed on a robot control device of another processing robot system. However, in the conventional software for robot control devices, various pieces of the setting information are backed up, as a plurality of different files, for every functional category of the robot control device. In this respect, setting information having no relationship to communication between the robot control device and the processing devices is filed at the same time in some cases. This increases the difficulty of identifying the backed-up file, which can be used to return the current setting to the previous setting that was successfully made, when the communication between the robot control device and the processing devices is executed. In this situation, unnecessary settings having no relationship to the connection between the robot control device and the processing devices are made in some cases. Thus, even when the settings which are manually made as described above can be used in one processing robot system, it is difficult to move the same settings to another processing robot system.
When all of the specifications of a processing device to be connected to a robot control device are disclosed, auto-setup software for automating settings for connection with the processing device can be developed and installed in the robot control device in advance. However, there are many manufacturers or models of processing devices in the world, and accordingly, it is difficult to develop auto-setup software for all of the processing devices and install the same in the robot control device in advance, and an enormous development cost is needed. Additionally, updating the auto-setup software depending on changes in specifications of a processing device to be connected is needed, and accordingly, an enormous software maintenance cost is needed.
In the processing robot system in which communication is executed using analog signals converted by a digital-analog converter, settings for connection with a processing device are simplified, but the robot control device cannot control various functions provided in a digital-controlled processing device.
Conventional processing robot systems provided with processing devices, which execute digital communication, have the problems described above. However, interfaces for industrial robots, which can easily make settings for connection with digital-controlled processing devices of each manufacturer adopting open field bus communication standards, have not yet been established. Depending on a combination between the robot control device and processing devices connected thereto, a trained operator and an enormous setting time are needed every time when an operation for connecting the robot control device and processing devices is performed.